by MB Mulhall
“I’d like to see that.” Darcy grinned at her friend. “In fact, I’ll be sure to bring my camera so we can document it for the yearbook.” Jazz laughed and made herself at home on Darcy’s lap.
“Hey!”
“Hey what? I want to sit near my injured friend and I was being considerate enough to leave the other seat for Chaz.”
“You could have asked me to move,” Darcy said under her breath. Jazz looked over her shoulder and grinned.
“But this is so much more fun. Shame Judd is left out. Maybe you want to get up and let him sit? Then we’d have a Darcy sandwich! Mmm, Darcy sandwich.”
“Jazz…” Judd warned his sister, who just stuck her tongue out at him as Darcy sat silently turning red.
With the whole crowd gathered round, Mandy retold the tale that landed her in the ER. Chaz and the twins had equally angry reactions to the story.
“Don’t worry Mandy,” Jazz said patting the plaster cast. “The Four Riders of the Apocalypse are ready to ride out into the sky and wreak havoc on any and all who cross us. By tomorrow night, those airheaded rah-rah bitches will be begging for mercy as their asses are on fire and their stomachs are roiling from the stench.”
“It’s not enough,” Chaz said, finally speaking up. Jazz stared him down.
“What would you like us to do Chaz, break their bones? As fun as that sounds, I’m too delicate for prison.”
“I was thinking more along the lines of making sure every single person in attendance knows of their…predicament.” Jazz sat back, leaning against Darcy, her arms crossed. She studied him as she ran a finger over her bottom lip.
“I think I know where you’re going with this…and it’s delightfully evil. I’m so proud of you! You’ve come a long way young Padawan.” Chaz smiled in return. Darcy, Judd and Mandy exchanged curious glances.
“Well, are you going to let the rest of us in on it?” Judd asked from the foot of the bed. Jazz gave her brother a devious grin and twirled an imaginary mustache.
“All in good time, my man. All in good time.”
Before the parents returned, the five friends discussed plans for the following day. Darcy actually cackled when she heard Jazz and Chaz’s idea to mic the bathrooms in the girl’s locker room. Unbeknownst to her, Chaz turned out to be some electronic whiz who could tap into the stadium’s PA system to broadcast the girls’ tummy troubles to anyone in or around the field area. It would be the ultimate embarrassment.
The doctor finally showed and released Mandy so everyone was free to head back home. As they were leaving, Judd stopped Darcy’s father.
“Sir, would it be alright if I drove Darcy home? I need to talk to her about something important.” Her dad narrowed his eyes.
“Did you ride your bike here?” Judd shook his head.
“No sir.” Letting out a deep sigh, her father relented.
“Fine, but she has a midnight curfew.”
“Thank you sir. That won’t be a problem.” Her dad looked from Darcy and back to Judd.
“It better not be.” Darcy impulsively stepped up and gave her dad a hug.
“Thanks dad. See you later!” They all split up in the parking lot, with Darcy’s dad running ahead to get the car to bring around for Mandy and her mom.
Darcy followed her friends wordlessly. When they stopped, she was standing in front of Judd’s bike and Jazz’s car.
“Uhh, I thought you said you didn’t bring the bike,” Darcy said. He gave her a sheepish grin.
“I couldn’t tell your dad I did. He would have dragged you home himself.” Judd turned to his sister. “I was kind of hoping my kind, loving, beautiful sister wouldn’t mind switching with me, just this once.” He batted his eyelashes at her.
“Jazz can drive it?” Darcy was impressed. Judd nodded his head.
“Yup. We switch off on occasion.” Jazz stood there, glaring at her brother. “Pretty please sister of mine? If not for me, then for your lovely friend here. You wouldn’t want to see Darcy be a sad clown, would you?” Jazz rolled her eyes before turning to Chaz.
“You okay with me taking you home on the bike?”
“OH…I forgot about him,” Judd said.
“It’s fine. I don’t mind going on the bike but my car is still at the school.”
“I can drop you there,” Jazz said before turning to her brother. “Be careful with my baby and don’t bring it back smelling all…funky.”
Darcy frowned.
“We’re just going to talk, Jazz.”
“Sure you are, Darcy,” she said patting her friend’s shoulder. “Your mouths might move and sounds might come out, but I suspect they will be more of the moaning variety, maybe a couple of fragmented words, but not too many full on sentences. ‘Oh yes!’ ‘Harder!’ ‘Oh yeah baby, twist it like a balloon animal.’” Judd shook his head.
“You are ridiculous, sister.” She raised an eyebrow.
“You forget what I walked in on earlier.” Darcy felt the flush fly up her neck. She kept her eyes avert from Chaz’s grinning face. “If I find one ass print on a window, you are cleaning my car inside and out with a toothbrush, you understand me Judd Christopher Marshall?”
“What about tit prin-” Jazz and Darcy smacked him simultaneously. He put on a wounded face.
“See what I have to put up with Chaz? Chicks, who needs ‘em?” Chaz raised his hand. Jazz followed suit.
“I’ll take the ones you don’t want,” Chaz said winking at Darcy. Judd swiftly stepped in front of Darcy.
“Over my dead body.” His voice was low and hard. Chaz laughed, putting his hands up in a surrender motion.
“Chill bro. Darcy’s got a special place in my heart, I won’t deny that, but even I’m not blind to the connection between the two of you. You just better treat her well.” Judd gave his friend a curt nod.
As they were separating, Chaz snuck in to give Darcy a hug. He slipped something into her hand. As she moved to open it, he curled her fingers back around it before leaning in to whisper in her ear.
“Keep that in your pocket. You never know when you may need it.” He grinned and gave her a wink before putting on the helmet Jazz was holding out for him. Judd and Darcy watched as the other two drove off.
“What was that all about?” Judd asked gesturing to Chaz’s back disappearing from their view. Darcy shrugged her shoulders and opened her palm. As recognition set in, she gave a little shriek and dropped the shiny foil square on the ground.
Before she could go after it, Judd darted in and picked it up. He grinned widely as he held it up, eye level, by a sharp corner.
“How considerate of him to provide the protection, especially when he’s not the one getting any action. Think we’ll need this later?” Darcy frowned and walked towards the car door.
“No.” Judd pouted.
“No? Really?” Darcy’s chest grew tight. She put a hand over her heart, which had a sudden ache.
“If that’s why you wanted to drive me home, save yourself the blue balls. I’ll walk.” She turned to leave him in the parking lot.
“Hey, hey now!” He took a couple of long strides to catch up, catching her arm to keep her from leaving. “I’m sorry. It was a bad joke. That’s not why I wanted to take you home. I mean, if something were to happen, I certainly wouldn’t be unhappy, but really, I promise that wasn’t the reason.”
She stopped but didn’t turn around.
“Ya know, despite my actions earlier, I’m really not the type of girl to just hook up with guys. It’s one thing to be in a relationship, but I’m not about to give it up to some guy who likes me one day and hates me the next…”
Judd pulled her flush against him, her back resting against his rock hard chest, his strong arms wrapped tight under her breasts. Resting his chin on top of her head, he spoke softly.
“I know you’re not and for the record, I never hated you. Not even a little bit. This is what I wanted to talk about though. Can we go somewhere more private? I promise I can k
eep my hands to myself if that’s what you want.”
Not trusting herself to speak, she nodded her head. He planted a kiss on the crown of her head and released her. She turned and he held a hand out to her. When she placed hers inside of his, Judd led her back to the car and held the door open for her, the perfect gentleman.
They drove in silence, Darcy unsure of where they were going. All her familiar landmarks looked different in the dark. It wasn’t until he finally stopped the car that she realized he had brought her back to his special spot. Making to get out of the car, he reached a long arm across her and held her back.
“Would it be all right if we stayed in the car?” Darcy was surprised, but agreed. “I uhh… I think I’ll have an easier time behaving myself if we have the gear shift between us.” He gave Darcy a sheepish grin.
They both released their seatbelts and adjusted themselves so they could be comfortable and see each other while they talked. Darcy, feeling like she still needed a slight barrier between them crossed her arms over her chest, sticking her hands in her armpits.
Judd opened his mouth to speak and closed it without saying a word. His large hand came up and rubbed the back of his neck, as if he was embarrassed. Darcy was baffled by his behavior. With the exception of the few moments earlier in the day, she had only really seen him as his cocky self-assured self. The nervous Judd was a whole new species of man meat. She reached out and patted his leg, reassuringly. His hand grabbed hers before she could pull it back to the safety. His thumb rubbed circles over the soft skin on the back of her hand.
“Darcy?” She looked at him out the corner of her eye.
“Yeah?”
“Can we start over?”
“Start over? The conversation? Well, we haven’t even really started in the first place…” Judd shook his head.
“I meant us.” He sighed. “I don’t know how we got our signals all crossed and mixed up, but I hate it. I don’t want to be fighting. I don’t want to be keeping my distance in case my best friend has an interest in you. I don’t want to have to stand aside if someone is bothering you.”
“Uhh, you haven’t really done that last one, which I’m thankful for.” He rewarded her with a dazzling smile.
“I would have sheltered you from it all if I could.”
“I know. You were always there for me. From the first day food bath to the trip to toilet town. I’m sorry I’ve been so… bitchy to you. You really didn’t deserve it. I think… I just didn’t know how to react to your attention. Between you and Chaz, my head was spinning in all sorts of directions.” Judd’s lips disappeared into a tight thin line upon hearing his friend’s name. Darcy hurried on. “I did realize, pretty early on though, that what I felt for Chaz wasn’t the same as what I felt for you. I came to realize… I mean… what I wanted to say is that…. Arrrgh! How can three small words be so difficult to spit out?” Judd reached out and pulled her other hand away from her lap, so he was holding them both. He leaned in and she automatically did the same.
“Would it help if we said it at the same time?”
Darcy’s eyes grew so wide she thought they might fall out of her head. Did he mean it? Could he really feel the same way she did? Did she risk it? What if he his three little words were “Let’s do it” or “Kiss my ass” or “Clowns are hot” or “You’re a joke”? She couldn’t worry about the “what ifs”. Instead, she nodded her head. They would say it at the same time. If his words were different, she could get the door open and jet out in three seconds flat to flee the embarrassment. She closed her eyes tight, trying to screw up the courage to tell him how she really felt.
“Darcy?”
“Yeah?” She responded without opening her eyes. He released one of her hands and cupped her face.
“Open your eyes.” Reluctantly, she opened them to find Judd’s face very close. The expression in his eyes blew her away. She knew then, that his words would be the same as hers. She copied his movements and took his strong jaw in her free hand. She didn’t need to hesitate anymore. Taking a deep steadying breath, she opened her mouth to let the words spill out. Judd smiled and opened his own mouth to accompany her. Simultaneously they declared their love for each other.
When Darcy woke the following morning, her stomach was like a mass of rabid Honey Badgers fighting over a King Cobra. But once she remembered her evening with Judd, all the turmoil died down, replaced with a warm and tingly kind of feeling. She couldn’t believe he really felt the same for her as she did for him. A huge smile broke out on her face and Darcy had a feeling it would be difficult to wipe away, but she didn’t care. She was allowed to be happy for a change.
Rolling over to check the time, she saw she needed to get her ass in gear if she was going to be ready by the time Jazz and Judd came to pick her up. Springing out of bed, she grabbed some clean clothes and headed for the bathroom. Before she got there, she heard her name. Turning, she peeked into Mandy’s room.
Her step-sister was struggling to sit up. Darcy dropped her clothes on the floor and entered to try to give her a boost. Mandy laughed at Darcy’s struggle.
“Thanks Darcy. I was getting tired of just lying there, but I couldn’t quite muster the energy to sit up.”
“No problem,” Darcy said blowing a puff of air up to try and push her bangs off her now sweaty forehead.
“What’s up with that smile?” Mandy gave her a knowing grin.
“Smile? Oh, uhh, just thinking about how the day will go I suppose.” Mandy grinned.
“I’m sure that’s it.” Darcy turned slightly so her tell-tale blush wouldn’t give her away.
“So, are you coming for the show tonight?” Her sister’s blonde head bobbed.
“Your dad said he’d drop me off so I could see Chaz’s show, but I figured I’d go a little earlier so I would be sure to catch the other show.” Darcy laughed.
“Good. Good. You definitely shouldn’t miss out on that. It’s going to be epic.”
“I cannot wait.”
Darcy helped Mandy fluff some pillows and grabbed her some magazines from the dresser across the room before heading for her shower.
Thirty minutes later, Darcy was scrubbed clean, blown dry and decked out in full face makeup. She purposely painted on a frown in the hopes that it would balance out the smile she couldn’t keep off her face. She wasn’t sure it worked, and she kind of didn’t care. There were bigger fishes to fry that day.
At eleven on the dot, she heard the bell ring. Surprised, she grabbed her bag, which was jammed full with her camera, and jetted down the stairs. Obviously, she wasn’t fast enough as Carol had reached the door and was chatting to a very sexy looking Judd.
His hair was still damp and making little curls on his forehead. Jeans as tight as his would look ridiculous on anyone else, but he pulled them off like a runway model. A bright white t-shirt hugged his chest like a second skin. Darcy could feel her mouth going dry and her heart rate accelerating. How was it not be illegal to look that good? When he spotted her, he broke out in a huge smile. Darcy thought she might keel over right then and there. When he laughed she frowned slightly.
“What’s so funny?”
He smirked and pointed to her hand. She had been unknowingly fanning herself again in an effort to calm down. Mortified, she dropped her hand to her side. He walked in as Carol moved aside. Stopping in front of Darcy, he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and whispered to her.
“You look pretty hot yourself.”
She blushed, as usual, and looked down at her layered tank tops and cut off shorts. Pretty simple and plain but if the boy liked it, she’d have to wear it more often.
“Ready to head out?” He held out a hand to her.
“Yep. Jazz in the car?” He nodded and she followed him out, calling out a goodbye to Carol.
The ride to school was filled with meaningless chatter. It was obvious nerves and tensions were running high. The twins had gone over to the school early, brownies in tow, to get the “treats�
� into the festival grounds without anyone seeing them. To be sure they didn’t get mixed up, Jazz put a little mark on each plate and kept them slightly separated from the rest of the brownies.
Since she was a part of the volunteer squad, Jazz split off from them when they got to the entrance of the festival. Darcy was thrilled to be able to spend some quality one on one time with Judd. They’d go on the rides, play the games, eat fried foods and try not to be nervous about what they knew was coming. He squeezed her hand.
“Ready for some fun?”
“Definitely.”
She stood on her tip toes and gave him a longer kiss than she had been planning on. He looked surprised.
“Not the fun I was talking about, but we can go off and do that if you’d like.”
“Maybe later,” Darcy said with a wink. “But for now let’s hit the rides!”
Judd laughed at her enthusiasm.
A few hours later, Judd got a text from his sister, letting them know the special show was about to start. Darcy reluctantly followed Judd to the eating booth. While she was happy they’d finally be getting their revenge, she was sad her fun time with him had to come to an end. As if he could read her mind, he stopped at one last stand before they got to Jazz and her tummy trouble brownies.
“What are you doing?” Darcy asked as Judd paid the barker a couple of bucks for three bright white baseballs.
“Winning you a prize.” Darcy’s face lit up.
He gave her a big smile before turning his attention to the milk jugs in front of him. With an expertise that only a carnie would have, Judd successfully knocked down the jugs, causing Darcy to release an ear piercing squeal of joy. He allowed her to pick her prize. As the barker was grappling with the large furry brown teddy bear, she jumped up and down, clapping her hands with glee. Judd stood to the side and watched her in amusement.
“Had I known it was so easy to make you happy, I would have showered you with stuffed animals early on.” She grinned.
